Step inside the Kingdom Tower – It is expected that construction of the tower will require 5.7 million square feet of concrete and 80,000 tons of steel.

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Step inside the Kingdom Tower – For buildings of this stature, wind load could also put stress on the structure. To battle this, the design of the structure will change every few floors.

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Step inside the Kingdom Tower – There are plans for a 98-foot sky terrace on the 157th floor. When completed, it will be the highest terrace in the world.

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Step inside the Kingdom Tower – The structure will overlook the Red Sea, posing additional challenges to the building process. It's particularly important that the foundations -- 200 feet deep -- won't be affected by saltwater from the ocean.

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Step inside the Kingdom Tower – Like the Burj Khalifa, the Kingdom Tower will have a flower-shaped footprint.

Dubai's iconic Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, could be stripped of its Guinness title if Saudi Arabia succeeds in its plans to construct the even larger Kingdom Tower in Jeddah -- a prospect looking more likely as work begins next week, according to Construction Weekly.

The Kingdom Tower, estimated to cost $1.23 billion, would have 200 floors and overlook the Red Sea. Building it will require about 5.7 million square feet of concrete and 80,000 tons of steel, according to the Saudi Gazette.

Building a structure that tall, particularly on the coast, where saltwater could potentially damage it, is no easy feat. The foundations, which will be 200 feet (60 meters) deep, need to be able to withstand the saltwater of the nearby ocean. As a result, Advanced Construction Technology Services will test the strength of different concretes.

Wind load is another issue for buildings of this magnitude. To counter this challenge, the tower will change shape regularly.

Delivering the concrete to higher floors will also be a challenge. Possibly, engineers could use similar methods to those employed when building the Burj Khalifa; 6 million cubic feet of concrete was pushed through a single pump, usually at night when temperatures were low enough to ensure that it would set.

Though ambitious, building the Kingdom Tower should be feasible, according to Sang Dae Kim, the director of the Council on Tall Buildings.

"At this point in time we can build a tower that is one kilometer, maybe two kilometers. Any higher than that and we will have to do a lot of homework," he told Construction Weekly.